Share Buyback

In accordance with s. 71 para. 1 no. 8 AktG (German Stock Corporation Act), the Company is authorized, until April 15, 2020, to acquire treasury stock adding up to a pro-rata amount of up to 10% of the Company's nominal capital that existed at the time this resolution was passed.

Together with other shares of the Company previously acquired or held in treasury by the Company or attributable to the Company pursuant to ss. 71d and 71e AktG, the shares acquired under this authorization must never exceed 10% of the Company's nominal capital. The provisions set out in s.71 para. 2 sentence 2 and 3 AktG must be complied with.

At the discretion of the Executive Board, the acquisition of the shares may either be effected (i) via the stock exchange or (ii) by means of a public purchase offer addressed to all shareholders. Purchase offers in line with (ii) may also be made by submitting invitations to tender shares. The shares may subsequently be used for all purposes allowed by law. In particular they may be redeemed, used to service bonds with warrants or convertible bonds, transferred to third parties as part of business combinations or acquisitions, used for implementing a so-called scrip dividend scheme, or disposed of in another manner. Further details of the resolutions on the share buyback adopted by the 2015 Annual General Meeting are available in the invitation to the Annual General Meeting, which you can find here.